


Another Year Down

by AwakeAndAliveSpartan



Series: The Max!Verse AU [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, In the same universe as best is yet to come, Max!Verse, birthday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 16:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9243053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakeAndAliveSpartan/pseuds/AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: It's Grant's birthday, but he doesn't remember that it is. At least he's got Skye there to help.





	

Grant looked up from his book as the pitter-patter of heavy paws across the hardwood floor echoed throughout the living room. He frowned and sat aside his book as the source of the sound came closer to him, “What the? Max, what the hell is that on you?” he asked, leaning towards the incoming being.

Max, Grant and Skye’s ten month old black German shepherd (well, mostly Grant’s), was paddling up to his owner, with a very big and very bright red balloon tied to his collar. The dog stopped at Grant’s feet and sat down, looking up at Grant with big, brown eyes.

“I bet this was Skye’s doing, wasn’t it?” Grant asked softly, leaning over and untying the balloon from the young shepherd. He shook his head and sighed, “Skye?” he called out. “Why the hell is there a balloon tied to Max? You just don’t tie balloons to dogs.”

There were a few seconds of silence in response. Well, Grant could’ve sworn that he had heard Skye snicker in the other room. He had very good hearing and Skye could never hide anything from him. Most of the time.

“I don’t know.” Skye flat-out lied. “I guess he tied it on himself.”

“Skye, Max doesn’t have fingers to tie anything with.” Grant stated, standing to his feet and causing Max to wag his tail in excitement. “Where the hell are you anyways?”

“The kitchen.”

“Why are you in the kitchen? We already had breakfast and it isn’t time for lunch yet.” He frowned, “What are you doing?”

“Well, considering I am ready for you anyways, seeing that Max was the signal for my little surprise. You can come on ahead.” Skye announced back, confusing the absolute out of Grant.

Surprise? What kind of surprise? He was sure that today was nothing special. Well, that’s what he thought. He tended to forget things time to time as a result of his mental issues. He had been getting help for them for eight months now and there hadn’t been all that much recovery. Well, he hadn’t had a hallucination in a while, so he guessed that that was something. But, he still felt pretty much the same he did when he and Skye ran from SHIELD. Guess it took a long time for someone like him to heal.

“Okay, I’m coming. But I don’t see what a surprise has to do with tying a damn balloon to the dog.” Grant complained, Max hot on his heels. He sighed as he reached the door to the kitchen, which was closed for some reason. They usually kept it wide open.

What had Skye been doing? Well, Grant had to admit that he hadn’t been paying attention the past couple of hours. He had been pretty immersed in that book he was reading, so he didn’t pick up on much of anything else during that time.

Grant opened the door and walked into a strange sight that used to be the kitchen. Colorful balloons and streamers practically littered the place. There was a cake on the table that had several unlit candles on it. His heart skipped a beat. Wait, was today? He shook his head and looked at Skye with a frown, “What the hell is all of this?” he asked, motioning with his hands.

She smiled and raised a curious eyebrow, “Grant, do you even know what today is at all?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“Uh, I know that it’s sometime in January. You’ve got to remember that I’m not very good with remembering things like dates right now.” Grant answered. “I can’t even remember whether or not I brushed my teeth this morning.”

“One, you did brush your teeth, I was in the bathroom with you when you did it.” Skye reminded him, taking a few steps towards him. “And two, today’s January 7th.” She motioned towards the decorations and the cake, “It’s your birthday.”

Grant’s face fell and paled in color. He looked around once more before looking back to Skye, “That’s _today_?” he stressed. “Today?”

Skye smiled again and nodded, not realizing that Grant had completely forgotten. But she didn’t blame him at all. “Yep.” she said with a pop of her lips. She walked over and took his arm, leading him to the chair in front of the cake. “You’re 34, right? How can you forget your own birthday?”

“Well, birthdays really weren’t a big thing during my childhood, my parents just didn’t care. We got a cake and that was about it. Maybe a present from our Gramzy, that’s it.” he began to explain. “And I was always alone during my time at SHIELD, and it’s not like Garrett really cared. Then I just didn’t care to tell anyone when the team was together. Then I spent like a year alone, I didn’t care about a birthday. And I’m pretty sure that I spent my last birthday _dead_.” He said that last point with a hint of malice, which was probably directed towards Coulson. “I just don’t do birthdays. Sorry.”

“Oh.” Skye honestly didn’t know what to say. She didn’t really expect an answer like that from him, even though she really should have. “Well, you can do birthdays starting now. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Why should I celebrate something that only reminds me that I’m getting older?” Grant questioned, eying the cake that he suspected would be far too sweet for him. Even though his diet wasn’t as strict as it used to be, he didn’t like overly-sugary things. Overall, he hated every aspect of a birthday.

“Well, because celebrating it is fun. We’re not celebrating the fact that you’re getting older, we’re celebrating the fact that you were born.”

“And how the hell is that a good thing?”

Skye’s stomach dropped. She really wished that Grant’s self-hatred wouldn’t act up at a time like this, but she knew that he really couldn’t help it at all. She sighed, “I consider it a good thing. Is that good enough?” she questioned. “Look, your past is in the past. You’re trying to work forward now. Let’s just focus on the good today.”

Grant shrugged and looked to the side, “Whatever. Still doesn’t change anything.” he muttered.

“Grant, it’s just me, you, and Max today. You don’t have to worry about anything else for the rest of the day.” Skye tried to reassure him. She got up and went to the chair on the opposite side of the table and pulled it out, “There’s no therapy appointments today, there’s nothing that we have to do, and I have no work today. Today’s all about you.” She leaned down and helped to put Max in the chair, which caused Grant to frown. “Just think, at least I remembered that today was your birthday.”

“I… I guess you’re right.” Grant admitted, trying to ignore the fact that his dog, whom of which was pretty big, was now sitting right across from him. “I never really celebrated my birthday, so I guess that this doesn’t hurt. Especially since it’s with just you and Max. And, anyways, why the hell is Max sitting in the chair?”

Skye smiled, “Because he wanted to join us and he wants cake too.” she answered. “That’s why.”

“He doesn’t need to be eating cake. And besides, how much sugar is in that thing? There’s no way that it’s good for you at all.” he began to complain, pointing at the cake. “It’s way too-“

“Grant, the cake is just for today.” Skye cut in, an eyebrow raised. “You don’t have to go all health nut on it. I know that you still love to exercise, but does your diet really have to be so clean-cut? You’re not an agent anymore, I think you can loosen up just a bit there.”

“It’s probably fatty.”

“Grant, you love burgers. A burger has more fat in it than a piece of this cake.”

Grant narrowed his eyes, “Fine.” he huffed. “Let’s just get this over with and get onto something else.”

“Alright, but you don’t have to be such a party pooper.” Skye said, sticking her tongue out at him. She pointed at the candles, “I couldn’t find a lighter or anything, so there’s nothing to blow out. Want me to sing?”

“Please don’t. I know that you can sing, but I just don’t feel like sitting through a song.” Grant stated, reaching for the plates that sat on the table and handed Skye one. “Okay?”

Skye shrugged, “Whatever you want, it’s your birthday.” she commented. She watched as Grant tried to cut the cake, but noticed that he was hesitating and that his hands were slightly trembling.

When Grant first woke up after Hive, he had bad tremors in his hands for a while. They never knew if it had been physical or just mental, mainly because the tremors mostly cleared up after a couple of months. They acted up time to time though, just like now.

“Grant, do you want me to cut the cake for you?” Skye asked lightly, pointing at the knife in his hands.

“No, I can do this.” Grant said adamantly, steadying his hand. “You want a big piece or a small piece?”

“Small. I’ll have some more later.”

Grant nodded and slowly, but surely, cut them two small pieces. He laid them on the plates and pushed Skye’s over to her, “There you go.”

“Thanks.” she stated simply. “Happy birthday.”

He smiled slightly, “You know, I guess that I can’t ask for more right now. I have you and Max, that’s all that really matters to me right now. At least this does prove that you care for me and that you do love me.”

“Of course I love you, did you really need a cake to prove that?”

“I dunno. Maybe? I just need reminding time to time. I still can’t believe that all of this is real.”

And, honestly, Grant was telling the truth. Even though they had restarted their relationship about two months ago, he still couldn’t believe that they were together. He knew that he didn’t deserve her and didn’t understand to why she stayed and gave him another chance. He always told her that she deserved much better than him.

“I don’t know how many times I have to remind you, but all this is real. It’s not another one of your hallucinations, sweetheart.” Skye replied lightly. “And I’m not going anywhere, don’t you worry.”

Grant smiled and nodded, not saying another word. He just looked down to his cake and took a small bite. And, surprisingly, it wasn’t too sweet. It was just right.

“Hey.”

Grant looked up, “What?”

Skye pointed at Max, whom of which was still sitting in the chair across from Grant, “Doesn’t he get his own piece?” she asked. Max just barked in response.

“No, he doesn’t!”

**Author's Note:**

> Just another little part of the Max!Verse. I almost forgot that today is Grant's birthday, but I did luckily remember. And sorry if this isn't too great, I'm currently sick with some kind of respiratory thing, but at least I tried! I hope that you liked! Please leave a kudos or a comment!


End file.
